A Royal Pain: A Royal Spyness Mystery

The Queen of England has concocted a plan in which penniless aristocrat Lady Georgie is to entertain a Bavarian princess and conveniently place her in the playboy prince's path, in the hopes that he might finally marry.

But queens never take money into account. Georgie has very little, which is why she moonlights as a maid-in-disguise.

If you haven't sampled this series, do yourself a favor. Start with the first and listen to them all. They are a wonderful mixture of humor, suspense and a bit of romance on the side. You will fall in love with the main characters as portrayed by the incomparable Katherine Kellgren.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust: Flavia de Luce, Book 7

Flavia de Luce - "part Harriet the Spy, part Violet Baudelaire from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (The New York Times Book Review) - takes her remarkable sleuthing prowess to the unexpectedly unsavory world of Canadian boarding schools in the captivating new mystery from New York Times best-selling author Alan Bradley.

I am so sorry it has ended. Never can get enough of Flavia deLuce. Jayne Entwhistle's narration adds immeasurably to the story - she IS Flavia. Can't wait for the next installment in Flavia's adventurous life.

The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla: Pink Carnation, Book 11

In October of 1806, the Little Season is in full swing, and Sally Fitzhugh has had enough of the endless parties and balls. With a rampant vampire craze sparked by the novel The Convent of Orsino, it seems no one can speak of anything else. But when Sally hears a rumor that the reclusive Duke of Belliston is an actual vampire, she cannot resist the challenge of proving such nonsense false. At a ball in Belliston Square, she ventures across the gardens and encounters the mysterious Duke.

Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series is absolutely one of my favorite reads and I especially love them on Audible when narrated by Kate Reading (who has read all but one). While they are all enjoyable, this one took me back to the original book that started it all, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. It was just delightful from beginning to end. If you are one of those lucky folks that haven't yet sampled the Pink series, I envy you. Do yourself a favor and dive in. Only one caution - they should be read in order since the characters are all intertwined and their progression needs to be followed logically.

The Unlikely Spy

"In wartime," Winston Churchill wrote, "truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies." For Britain's counterintelligence operations, this meant finding the unlikeliest agents imaginable - including a history professor named Alfred Vicary.

I love WWII stories and this is a good one. it reminds me a lot of Ken Follett's Eye of the Needle but with many twists and turns. The characters are well-developed and the action plenty fast enough to keep you listening. If you are a fan of this genre, I don't think you can go wrong with this one.

Just One Damned Thing After Another: The Chronicles of St Mary's, Book 1

Behind the seemingly innocuous façade of St Mary's, a different kind of historical research is taking place. They don't do 'time-travel' - they 'investigate major historical events in contemporary time'. Maintaining the appearance of harmless eccentrics is not always within their power - especially given their propensity for causing loud explosions when things get too quiet. Meet the disaster-magnets of St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around History.

I was actually amazed that I like this book so much. It was a purchase in the find a new series sale a while back. This is the first author I have read that I think is a match for Connie Willis. Actually, the story lines are similar, i.e., both academic time travel into the past, but Jodi Taylor puts a major twist on hers. Also, this is a series, whereas Willis' books are all stand alone and differ widely in their plots. I liked the narrator a lot and found her portrayal of the characters spot-on. I doubt that any of these books will surpass Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog: or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last, which was pure genius, but these are definitely good value and I will be reading the entire series.

The God of the Hive: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes

New York Times best-selling author Laurie R. King enjoys immense popularity and a resounding chorus of critical acclaim for her exquisite mysteries. The God of the Hive continues the thread King began in The Language of Bees, in which Mary Russell and her famous husband, Sherlock Holmes, face trouble with Scotland Yard and the deadliest of adversaries.

This started off exciting and never stopped. I have read all of the Russell books and find that the series just keeps getting better. If you have read the rest of the series, you won't be disappointed in this one. If you have not read them, be sure to start with the first book and take them in order. It will greatly enhance your enjoyment as the characters tend to reappear in subsequent stories and the complex relationship between Holmes and Mary unfolds slowly as the series progresses.

The Coroner’s Lunch: The Dr. Siri Investigations, Book 1

Laos, 1975: The Communist Pathet Lao has taken over this former French colony. Dr. Siri Paiboun, a 72-year-old Paris-trained doctor, is appointed national coroner. Although he has no training for the job, there is no one else: the rest of the educated class have fled.

As Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes embark on their 11th adventure together, they find themselves immersed in the world of silent filmmaking. Here, the pirates are real—and unlike the shooting done with a camera, this sort can be deadly.

I am a major fan of Laurie King and have raced through every book in this series as they just got better and better, until I got to this one! To say that there was no "suspense" is an understatement. Mind numbingly boring is the only way to describe it. The entire premise of why Mary was investigating to begin with was unbelievably weak and Holmes' role was almost totally peripheral. The dozens of characters were confusing, uninteresting, and for the most part, poorly developed. There were numerous times when I thought, ah, now something will happen but no! I kept waiting for something, anything, to happen - waiting, waiting, waiting! Jenny Stirlin did her usual perfect narration but the story could not be salvaged. I'm surprised she could stay awake long enough to narrate it. It is fortunate that this is not the first of the series or I would have gone no further. I have forced myself to listen till the end, thinking every minute that it just HAD to get better but sadly, it never did. If you have read the rest of the series, you may think you have to read this one too for completeness but trust me, you won't be missing a thing. Such a disappointment.

The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam

Charlie Howard travels the globe writing suspense novels for a living. To supplement his income - and keep his hand in - Charlie has a small side business: stealing for a very discreet clientele on commission. When a mysterious American offers Charlie 20,000 euros to steal two small monkey figurines to match the one he already has, Charlie is suspicious; the job seems too good to be true, and of course, it is. He soon finds the American beaten nearly to death, while the third figurine has disappeared.

Can't say that I was expecting much. This was one of the Audible Daily Deals but I love Simon Vance as a narrator and the sample sounded interesting so I took the plunge. Turned out it was really good, full of action, with a surprise ending. I will be looking for more of Chris Ewan's books.

The Curse of the Pharaohs: The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 2

The sun rides high over the British Empire and the light still sparkles brightly in Amelia Peabody's eye as she returns for her second adventure in archaeology and romantic mystery as recounted in her lively journal, The Curse of the Pharaohs.

What made the experience of listening to The Curse of the Pharaohs the most enjoyable?

Barbara Rosenblat is my favorite narrator. Her ability to portray each character so flawlessly and believably is uncanny. I have listened to each of the books so many times that I have lost count. They are my old friends and companions, to be cherished over and over again. I had read all of these books in hard copy long before Audible came along but found that the narrated versions brought a dimension to the stories that I love.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I have listened to all of the stories so many times that I am no longer on the edge of my seat with suspense but I can promise that there is literally never a dull moment for Amelia and Emerson.

Which character – as performed by Barbara Rosenblat – was your favorite?

Amelia Peabody Emerson, without question, is the shining light though all of the characters are engaging. I adore both Emerson and Ramsey, especially when Ramsey was a small boy.

Any additional comments?

If you have not read this series, I envy you. Do yourself a favor and begin the joyous ride. LIsten to each in sequence and always, always, only the ones narrated by Barbara Rosenblat.

The Dog Who Came in from the Cold: A Corduroy Mansions Novel

Literary agent Barbara Ragg has agreed to represent a man writing a book about his experiences hanging out with the Abominable Snowman. Terence Moongrove’s residence has become the target of New Age cosmologists. And pint-sized terrier Freddie de la Hay is being recruited by MI6 to infiltrate a Russian spy ring.

I had put off listening to this series because I thought I had read a bad review somewhere . I love dogs, however, and enjoyed this author's series, The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency, so when it came up on the 2 for 1 sale, I made the plunge and I sure wasn't disappointed. The author is such a wise man. While I normally dislike books that keep several story lines going at once, Smith is an expert juggler, managing to keep you on track and interested in each character, and in this case, I found that I enjoyed the departures. This is not like some other "dog" books, in that it is not all about Freddie de la Hay (the dog) and is not narrated by him but he definitely influences the entire story. The author's understated humor is just right, keeping you smiling and occasionally laughing out loud while still exploring the pathos and frailties of the human condition. I think to a large degree it succeeds because we can see ourselves in the characters. Simon Prebble is the perfect narrator for the story and when it ended, I just wanted to listen to it again. As soon as I finish the other books in the season, I probably will. I just loved it.

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